Cleveland Tops Dallas as Host of 2016 Republican National Convention

The host city for the 2016 Republican National Convention will be Cleveland.

On Tuesday, the Republican's site selection committee reviewed bids from both Dallas and Cleveland. Eventually, Cleveland was picked as the winner.

Now that the selection has been made, the formal negotiations will begin. According to Ryan Mahoney, Deputy Press Secretary with the Republican National Committee, "The committee's recommendation remains contingent on successful negotiations with the city and will still require a final vote by Republican National Committee Members at the RNC’s Summer Meeting." That meeting will be held in Chicago in August.

Earlier this year, a list of cities were nominated to host the convention, but the final list was narrowed down to just two selections, Dallas and Cleveland.

“It’s my honor to announce Cleveland as the Site Selection Committee's recommendation to host the 2016 Republican National Convention,” said Enid Mickelsen, Site Selection Chairwoman.“Cleveland is a phenomenal city, and I can’t think of a better place to showcase our party and our nominee in 2016."

“I extend my deepest gratitude to Dallas," Mickelsen said. "Dallas is a world class city with wonderful venues and fantastic people and I'm certain they’ll make a great host for our party in the future."

According to Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings it appears to have come down to what month which city could host the convention saying the city of Dallas is so successful July was on the table for Dallas but June was available for Cleveland.

"We made a conscious decision early on we were not going to bid for the June date, we knew what we were going to do and we did it well in July. We did not have the capabilities to put on a first class convention in June," said Mayor Rawlings.

"On one hand I'm disappointed obviously because we wanted this to come to Dallas," said Mayor Rawlings. "On the other hand, I'm very proud."

"When we started this thing we were not even considered in the running," said Mayor Rawlings, but the city of Dallas ended up being one of the two finalists.

Hosting the Republican National convention is a huge undertaking. An estimated 50,000 visitors will head into town, there is expected to be a big economic boost, not to mention a week in the national spotlight.

The Washington Post reports the host city is required to pay for renting venues and security. Dallas has managed to raise $50 million towards costs.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus also extended his thanks to the city of Dallas, “I also want to thank Dallas. The hospitality shown by their city, their team and the Republican community in Dallas has been tremendous.”

A full 168-member Republican National Committee is expected to ratify Cleveland as the 2016 convention host when it meets in Chicago August 6-9.

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